Scarf
by phoenixnext
Summary: A/U, adult life, no magic: What importance can a person assign to a scarf? Is it enough to bring two people together? Christmas NanoFate fluff.


A/N: Hey Folks! Here is another short one-shot. Plenty more where this came from coming soon. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season, whatever your religion or creed thank you for taking the time to read.

Disclaimer: I don't own it, I make no money from it, I just love it.

~'~'~

Scarf

For the past three years Nanoha Takamachi had noticed something about the blonde woman who worked in finance. She wore a faded and somewhat tattered scarf whenever the weather turned cold. There was something annoyingly familiar about the ugly thing. It didn't suit the beautiful blonde at all and it made her want to destroy the frayed scarf.

For the first time their two departments were having a joint Christmas Party and with a little pressure on a coworker she'd been able to get the blonde as her Secret Santa. At first she'd thought a store bought scarf would suffice then the gossip chain had told her not to bother. For the last two years her coworkers had all tried to give her a replacement scarf and she'd thanked them but never used them.

It had been years since she'd knitted, the last time had been a complete fiasco which had turned her off to the activity. As she selected the proper yarn she reflected back on that time and wonder why the blonde had captured her attention so deeply to make her willing to do this again. She'd only been eleven at the time when she knitted a scarf for a neighborhood boy she'd had a crush on. He'd turned out to be a complete jerk and that had been the day she'd learned to never judge a book by its cover.

She remembered the way the boy had thrown away her gift calling it ugly and useless. At the time she'd cried her eyes out and then another boy had come up to her to comfort her. He'd looked like a street kid, shabby clothing and a smudge of dirt on his cheek. Poorly cut blonde hair hung like a shaggy mop, half obscuring his unique burgundy eyes. It was those eyes that had been so gentle and understanding that had her trusting him instantly. They had spent the rest of the day together and the hug she'd shared with him was the only one that had ever caused her heart to race. The memory of him wrapping the discarded scarf around his neck and smiling at her was one she cherished deeply.

Turning her mind back to her current situation she thought about the blonde in finance. She was regally beautiful, taller than most men and elusive as a deer in the woods. The only name she'd been able to connect to her was F.T. Harlaown as she never spoke her full name aloud. Other than the grumpy old man in HR and the woman's direct manager she doubted anyone else in the company knew what the F. stood for. She'd heard plenty of guesses from her colleagues but somehow Francesca or Fiore didn't seem right.

Harlaown was an incredible worker who was rising fast in the company, she was helpful and considerate to all which made it difficult for anyone to dislike her. She didn't have any close friends but had become the office mother, tending minor injuries, lending an ear to those who needed to vent and bringing treats in on special occasions. Plenty of guys had tried to hit on her when she first started working in the company but she'd always politely declined them. Now she was seen by the men as an idol to be worshipped from afar and no longer badgered for dates.

The first time they had worked together there had been this awkward moment when the blonde had called her by her first name and she'd stupidly asked if they'd met before. The confused look on Harlaown's face quickly straightened to bland before she apologized, "Sorry, I am so used to hearing you called by your given name in the office. Please forgive my impudence Takamachi-san," from then on the blonde had been coolly formal with her.

There were times she swore she'd seen Harlaown staring at her from across a room but it always turned out to be a mistake. Maybe the woman was just sensing her watching her like some creepy stalker. No matter how much she denied it to herself she was silently growing more and more obsessed with the blonde. Learning what things she enjoyed and disliked, and most importantly if she was dating anyone. Because in the last decade and a half she'd come to realize she was bisexual, though the guy had to be very pretty to be of any interest to her.

Sitting on her couch knitting she had to smirk to herself, the little ragamuffin who'd comforted her all those years ago had been very pretty for a boy. In spite of his terrible haircut she'd noticed he had the longest eyelashes she'd ever seen framing those mesmerizing eyes. His pale skin though smudged with dirt had been smooth and delicate. His ill fitting clothes hadn't been able to hide a slim build more suited for a young girl. Maybe it was that day her tastes began to shift from the traditionally masculine types of guys to the quiet gentle type.

The day before the party she finished her present, holding it up she had to admit she'd done a very good job. The pale gold and burgundy yarn made from alpaca wool had turned into a warm and comforting scarf that anyone would be proud of wearing. Folding it neatly into a box she wrapped it in festive paper and placed a bow on it. This year Harlaown would be wearing a new scarf, even if she had to wrestle her to the ground and tie it on her herself.

The night of the party Nanoha looked over the crowd and couldn't find Harlaown. Her worried look had one of her coworkers asking her what was wrong.

Sighing she took a deep drink before admitting, "I was wondering where Harlaown is."

There was a knowing look on the woman's face before she said quietly, "You know, I think you actually might have a chance there. I've seen her looking at you a few times."

A conflict of emotions erupted in Nanoha's chest; hope, fear, denial, and pride. If anyone was going to be with the golden goddess it should be her. Maybe she was being presumptuous but she couldn't see any of the men in the company being a good match for her. Then she shook herself, she wasn't going to be that kind of person. She'd been on the receiving end of men's attention based on the assumption that they were the best for her. The first step was becoming friends with the woman, anything more would come with time if the blonde wanted it.

The managers were now passing out gifts and Harlaown's absence was noted, "I'll take this back to the office and leave it on her desk. Thank you whoever got her the gift."

Realizing she wasn't going to be able to use this party as an opportunity to get closer to the blonde she began to drink heavier. She felt like a fool for putting so much of her hopes on this event. By the end of the night she was drunk and unable to think clearly. Stepping out into the cold winter air she swayed with intoxication.

Before she could stumble there was an arm wrapped around her waist and looking up she saw the most remarkable burgundy eyes staring down on her with concern. In her drunken state her mind removed all the trivialities of time and circumstances focusing on eyes that could only belong to one person, in a slightly slurred voice she asked, "Testarossa, why do you only come to me when I'm at my lowest?"

Blushing the blonde answered, "I didn't think you remembered me."

The soft voice of Harlaown, the woman she'd been obsessing over for some unknown reason, snapped her back into the present. Blinking to focus her eyes on the rest of the face she was looking up at she blushed scarlet.

Stuttering she said, "Y..ya...you are Testarossa-kun? MY TESTAROSSA-KUN?"

Shrugging at the shocked look the blonde said sheepishly, "Um yes."

Nanoha suddenly realized being drunk was not helping her process this news. Covering her eyes she slowly step by step put the information together in her head.

Assuming the worst the blonde removed her arm from around the intoxicated woman, "I'm sorry. I… I'll call you a cab to take you home. Don't worry we don't have to mention this to anyone."

Finally the soggy mess that was Nanoha's brain snapped back into action. Wrapping an arm around the taller woman's waist to keep her from escaping Nanoha frowned up at her first love commenting, "You know you could have told me you were a girl."

Slightly ashamed of herself Harlaown said, "I didn't think you liked girls, you were so upset over a boy so I thought it best to let you think what you wanted."

Glaring at her blurrily Nanoha then pointed out, "And when we met again you didn't admit to knowing me from before, why?"

There was pain in soulful ruby eyes as Harlaown admitted, "Because I didn't want to ruin your memory of me from back then. I thought it was better to have your goodwill as a random little boy than your hate for lying to you as an adult."

Rolling her eyes at the assumption she hooked an arm around the taller woman's neck and yanked her down to very publicly kissed her. Within a heartbeat Harlaown realized what was happening and responded in kind. They were about to get more daring when a throat cleared nearby. Breaking apart Nanoha was ready to tell the world to go screw itself when she saw it was the blonde's manager. The man had a smug look on his face that made it clear he at least had seen this coming.

Handing over the small wrapped gift he said, "I suspect Takamachi-san will want you to have this tonight. Happy Christmas you two."

The pair mumbled a proper response to their superior before Harlaown returned her attention to the gift in her hand, "Is it from you?"

Now it was Nanoha's turn to blush, "Uh yeah, I… I made it for you."

Tearing open the package the blonde saw what it was and tears sprang to her eyes. In her soft voice she asked, "You really made this for me?"

Taking the ratty old scarf off the woman's neck Nanoha then wrapped the new one on her before a new realization hit her drunken mind, "Ever since I saw you wearing this terrible thing I wanted to replace it with a new one. Not because it doesn't suit you or that it's so old but because you deserve better than someone else's cast off. I wanted you to wear one with the feelings I have for you."

Stuffing the old scarf in her coat pocket the blonde said, "Anything made by you, even if it is a cast off, is worth more to me than anything that could have been bought in a store."

Nanoha was about to retort with some grand romantic gesture when she let out a huff of air, "Damn it, I can't even properly ask you to be my girlfriend if I don't know your given name."

Laughing the burgundy eyed woman leaned in and whispered, "Fate," in her ear.

Completely earnest Nanoha took her first love's hands in her own and asked, "Fate-chan, will you be mine?"

Ten Year Later: Christmas Morning

Fate lay sleeping in her bed a soft smile gracing her lips as she dreamed the sweetest of dreams. She was about to roll over to search blindly for her warm bed mate when a small body jumped onto her back.

Tiny hands patted her back as a childish voice called out, "Wake up mama! Santa left presents. Come on!"

Groaning at the rough awakening she rolled over carefully and caught her daughter in her arms. With a sleepy yawn she sat up before tossing the child onto her shoulder. With a grunt of effort she swung her feet to the ground and got up to find her wife. Most likely the over-sized child was shaking the presents under the tree while eating cookies.

Showing her responsible side this morning Nanoha was standing in the kitchen cooking a proper breakfast for her two most important people. Seeing the two blondes enter the kitchen she smiled before giving each a kiss.

The giggling child begging to be saved but Nanoha just poked her cheek and said, "I told you to wake mama gently, now you have to pay the price munchkin."

Placing their daughter in her chair Fate then sunk into her own with another yawn, "Why does she have to be a morning person like you?"

Putting a cup of coffee in front of her wife and giving her another kiss Nanoha teased, "Cause she looks just like you, it's only fair if she acts like me."

Interrupting her moms' flirting the little girl asked, "If you give me a sister will she look like Nanoha-mama and act like Fate-mama?"

Choking on her coffee Fate tried to clear her airway, "*cough*cough* Sister?"

Smirking at her wife Nanoha rubbed her back, "You know we still have time."

Blushing hotly Fate looked at each of them and realized she was trapped, "Uh, we do, don't we but uh who… um which of us is going to carry her?"

Smiling evilly Nanoha commented, "I did carry Vivio so…"

Swallowing hard Fate nodded, "We can go to the clinic after the New Year."

Squealing with happiness Nanoha and Vivio high-fived each other, their conspiracy exposed. Fate knew Nanoha had wanted another child and she wasn't against the idea but it had been a long time since they'd discussed it. Taking another sip of coffee she could only smile at the two little devils who made her days so wonderful. Another baby could only increase their happiness.

After breakfast Fate allowed herself to be dragged into the living room, taking a seat on the couch she watched as Nanoha sat on the ground with Vivio in her lap. Together they ripped through the pile of presents under the tree. Christmas was never about gifts to her, it was the time spent with the people she loved that mattered most. So when Vivio came over to her with a box she was more amused by the gift than excited.

Opening it she felt a wave of nostalgia hit her hard, in the box was a hand knitted scarf and sweater. The scarf she wore each winter was still the one Nanoha had given her that Christmas they'd gotten together; though it was in dire need of retirement. The matching sweater was a new thing, far more ambitious for her wife who had tried to knit gloves one year and nearly ripped her hair out in frustration. She'd have to teasingly ask her how long it had taken her later, when their daughter wouldn't have to witness the violent reaction she'd likely get.

Small hands patted her knees and Vivio demanded, "Try it on mama."

Pulling it on immediately she could feel how warm it was and how perfectly it fit her. Nanoha was very good at dressing her, and undressing her for that matter, so that was no surprise.

A gentle hand flattened her messy hair before a kiss was placed on her cheek, "Happy Christmas Fate-chan."

"Yeah! Happy Christmas Fate-mama!" and another kiss was pressed to her other cheek.

Hugging them both the blonde smiled, "Happy Christmas my loves."


End file.
